The Kenmore 600 top loader Roto-Rack dishwasher!

[philr]

I just got back to Canada after the wonderful trip to Boston and I just helped Paul to unload his Kenmore 600 dishwasher that Phil B. found on Craigslist. John LeFever got it for him and he brought it from Maryland to Jon's place for the wash-in.

I was just as thrilled as he was to see it running!

Thanks everyone for the help, we had a great time!

Now some pictures. I'm sure there'll be more from Paul later!

 

[gansky1]

It does light up!

Glad to see you guys made it home safe and sound, I'm not sure Paul is completely out of the woods yet, he still has to hide that all his loot from Chris

It was good to see you both and meet you for the first time Phil - we had a great time! Now the long wait until we see the finished show in September.

 

[ovrphil]

Lights, camera , action - any more photos or videos coming? So glad these machines are in caring hands. a

That's happiness holding happiness.

 

[philr]

Phil, here's a small video I made of it.

 

[appnut]

Ohh, I heard the snap of a drain valve!!!  Anyone know the difference between Heavy & Normal cycles? 

 

[jamiel]

Probably supplementary heat.

 

[combo52]

D&M KM TL DW

Yay Paul glad it seems to work.

 

Hi Bob, there is no drain valve in these DWs just a reversing motor, although it does sound like a drain valve snapping open.

 

When the heavy button is pushed the timer will pause and heat the 2nd wash and final rinse to around 145-150F if needed.

 

[philr]

It has a separate drain pump like many D&M impeller dishwashers. I don't know exactly how it recirculates the water in the fixed wash arm that rotates the Roto-Rack but I guess the motor isn't a reversing type.

I didn't take pictures of the motors but I did take one showing the two timers and the wiring diagram.

Greg,
I had a great time with everyone and I really appreciated your presence. I knew you had to be a very nice person and you surpassed my expectations!
I still need to practice my English conversation skills but I really enjoyed meeting all of you in Boston. And thanks to everyone for being there and so nice with me. I hope we'll meet again soon!

John, I started to play with the fold-back units you gave me, thanks again![this post was last edited: 7/3/2015-11:55]

 

[philr]

Oh BTW,
Greg, I just had a coffee in my new Chemex coffee pot and I followed your instructions on how to place the filter, it works great on the first use!

 

[whitetub]

I used to love the Philips coffee makers. With those filter discs... the good old days...

 

[combo52]

Thank You Phil

For reminding me about the separate drain pump in the D&M DW, [ I knew it didn't have a drain valve ] I only ever had one D&M KM DW similar to this one and Paul C also has this one now. I don't think D&M DWs sold real well in the early 60s and we know they didn't last long [ very few DWs did in this time period ] so by the time I was actively involved in the repair business in the early 70s very few early 60s DWs were still around with the exception of Kitchenaid machines.

 

[turquoisedude]

After another mission to Vermont on Thursday, I made sure to leave myself enough time to play with my 'new' Kenmore 600 Roto-Rack dishwasher!

 

I'd love to find out when approximately the dishwasher was made.  The model number is 587.65510 and the serial is 36641 if anyone can decode them.  I'd have to guess it's early 60s (maybe 1963 or 1964). 

 

I did a bit of scrubbing to tidy up the cabinet and top - I think this dishwasher was parked next to the range in its former home 'cause there was lots of grease caked onto the right side of it.  But it seems to have cleaned up nicely and Hubby didn't blow up too badly when he saw it in the kitchen in Ogden!

 

There was one wee issue - one of the detergent cups was missing the lower release door... 

 

[turquoisedude]

Fortunately, the late Larry Olmo of Modern Parts sold me a NOS one a while back.    When I dismantled the old one, though, I found the shaft for the trip lever was also snapped.   A bit of JB Weld solved that, thank goodness, and I was able to install the new cups. 

 

Adjusting the trip lever was a bit of a chore, though.  After lots of cursing, I managed to get it to release both cups. 

 

[turquoisedude]

Mechanics and electrics...

While the back cover was off, I had to investigate the guts and gizmos that make up this dishwasher. 

 

The lighted cycle progression fascinated me - I was stunned to see that it's actually a bank of neon bulbs that light as the timer progresses through the cycle!  Way more complicated than I imagined and not something I want to mess with. 

 

I was also fascinated by the second timer - I should have taken a picture of the cycle chart on the wiring diagram still stuck to the rear panel of this dishwasher but the second timer is engaged when the Heavy Wash button is pressed.  From what I could gather, the main timer will kick out until this timer completes its cycle.  I'll need to pull the chart again at some point for further study.  Oh, and of course I'll have to run a Heavy cycle to see what exactly happens at some point!!

 

[turquoisedude]

So, with the cabinet all cleaned up and new detergent dispenser cups in place, I figured it was time for a wash test!

 

The racks for the dishwasher are in amazing shape - this would make a good demo or loading practice setup, don't you think??  I couldn't recall how the cutlery baskets were placed when I took the racks out (D'OH!) but I think I got them back into the right spot... 

 

You can't see the bottom rack that well, but this was a good load of dirty dishes.   On the subject of racks, I will go on the record saying that when you aren't immediately loading and running this dishwasher, it can be a bit of an inconvenient juggling act to add dishes to the lower rack.  I wound up lifting off one whole section of the upper rack - I'm not sure how easy or convenient that will be in the long run... The front-load 600 I also have would be a lot easier (and thus gets an extra vote in its favour as the 'new' dishwasher in the new house!).

 

[combo52]

KM DW

Hi Paul, glad the DW is working, if you look at the side of the main motor the year the motor was manufactured is stamped on.

 

[turquoisedude]

And we're washing!!

 

The machine runs incredibly quietly.  I'm going to have to keep an eye on that detergent dispenser, though... It needed help for the main wash detergent dump!

 

I shot a very short video of the Roto Rack in motion (sans eau...) 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

The results....

I only got around to unloading this morning (I HAD to go to a big garage sale... LOL)

 

At first glance, things look good.  The upper rack items are perfectly clean; no trace of yibblets!

 

On the lower rack, there was a small white bowl on the right side of the rack...  It didn't do so well. 

 

But the cutlery looks amazing.  I noticed that the final rinse was fairly long, so I guess it allows the water to get good and hot.  I love the impeller-assisted dry and note to any future Kenmore 600 owners - don't put the drain hose away until the machine shuts off!  There's a pump-out at the end of the dry cycle. 

 

All in all, I'd score this at 95%...  Let's see what happens with the Heavy Wash cycle!

 

[appnut]

Good job balancing the upper rack.  Isn't it nice to have a multi-level wash impeller dishwasher?

 

[turquoisedude]

Yes it is!  It was a great idea to have that extra half-arm spray for the upper rack for sure!

 

And mystery solved - it looks like it's a 1965 model.  I found a manual and parts list right here in the Manuals section.  Hooray for doctrine!! 

 

It looks like my instinct to put the cutlery baskets to the rear of the machine was correct.  Scary....    The instructions explain how the two washes are extended by 4 1/2 minutes each during the Heavy cycle and confirmed my observation about the final rinse - it does 'pause' to get the water good and hot.  

 

And You-Know-Who hasn't really kicked up a fuss so far, so I think I'm safe... LOL 

 

 

 

[gansky1]

Nice work getting that ready for a maiden load so fast, Paul. Looks like you'll have lots of fun with that. That Norge D&M dishwasher I had last year was just about as good as your KM in the lower rack, now just imagine it without the spray tube for the Roto-Rack. Those two in combination were the best thing that D&M could have done to make that machine tolerable for most families.

Isn't that Chemex a good coffee maker? I just love mine and really should use it as a daily-driver as it's the best home-brewed coffee I've had.

 

[ovrphil]

PhilR - thanks for the initial video.

Paul - Since vintage dishwashers are really new to me, especially viewing them in action, I love the rotating and colorful racks. There are many washes and rinses! - two washes and four rinses!? How much water does this unit pour through?

Another fun toy.

 

[spiralator60]

Paul,

How long does the manual say that the cycle that you tested should take?

 

[jetcone]

YOU people and

your RotoRacks ! 

 

Although gotta love that indicator light system and an awesome backsplash too.

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Greg:  I had to make this machine kitchen-ready fast so that someone didn't get a chance to complain too much... Amazingly, he did notice that it replaced a Coppertone GE Mobile Maid... LOL 

 

Phil B:  According to the Sears manual for this dishwasher, it uses 13.2 gallons for a full cycle - that's not too bad for all those washes and rinses!  BUT, in contrast, the '56 GE pull-out in the Kitchen Center uses 6.5 gallons for a full cycle (pre-wash, two rinses, main wash, three final rinses) - I guess the extra water is needed to provide adequate circulation to that upper spray arm.  

 

Darryl:  Per the Sears manual, the Normal Soil cycle is timed at 45 minutes plus the time required to heat up the water in the final rinse.  I wasn't timing it precisely but it seemed to me that it took about 50 minutes.   The Heavy cycle is timed at 54 1/2 minutes plus any additional time to heat water for that final rinse.   I'm planning on trying the Heavy cycle on the next run!

 

Jon:  Dang it, I knew I should have challenged you to a Jet-Tower V. Roto-Rack dishwasher duel.... (ducks and runs)

 

 

[jetcone]

You're on Paul

Bring it on!! Holla JetTower Living